The study aimed to understand the reality of living with schizophrenia from the account of people who live with it. Interviews were conducted with ten patients with schizophrenia hospitalized in a general hospital, diagnosed with the disorder for at least five years. The thematic analysis was used for the content analysis. As results, it was identified the category "Living with schizophrenia" and six themes, which concern: the knowledge of the disease, the symptoms, the hardship of living with the illness, the stigma, the family and the religion. In conclusion, this work can allows broader look at people with schizophrenia, since the knowledge about the disease and its implications occurred from the perspective of who live with such suffering on a daily basis.